NCLH Q2 2024 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Norwegian Cruise Line Q2 2024 Earnings Call
• Date: July 31, 2024 at 2:00 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Sarah Inman (Investor Relations)
  • Harry Sommer (Chief Executive Officer)
  • Mark Kempa (Chief Financial Officer)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 2024 was approximately $588M, which exceeded guidance of $555M and represented year-over-year growth of 14%.
• Adjusted EPS for Q2 2024 was $0.40, which exceeded guidance of $0.32 and increased 33% versus the same quarter in 2023.
• Net yield grew 6.3% in Q2 2024, beating internal guidance by 200 basis points.
• Trailing 12-month adjusted operational EBITDA margin improved to 33% at quarter end and is expected to finish 2024 at 34.5%, a 400 basis-point improvement versus 2023.
• Advanced ticket sales reached $3.9B in Q2 2024, representing an 11% year-over-year increase and a new company record for advanced sales.
• Pre-booked onboard revenue per capacity day increased 15% in Q2 2024 versus the comparable prior period.

Guidance

• Full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA guidance was raised to $2.35B from $2.2B, an increase of $150M versus prior guidance.
• Full-year adjusted EPS guidance was increased to $1.53, which the company stated is approximately a 120% increase versus 2023.
• Full-year net yield growth guidance was raised to 8.2% from 7.2%, a 100 basis-point upward revision driven entirely by stronger pricing.
• Q3 2024 net yield is expected to grow almost 6.5%, and Q3 adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $870M with adjusted EPS of $0.92.
• Q3 2024 adjusted net cruise cost ex-fuel PCD is expected to increase 3.3% to $156 PCD versus ~$151 PCD in Q3 2023, with the company attributing the uplift largely to timing and higher variable compensation.
• The company expects Q4 2024 implied net yield growth of roughly 5% and reiterated that the full-year net yield guidance is now underpinned by pricing across all four quarters of 2024.